Tamashiro Yuki - Volleyball Queen

Chapter 6

Bare feet gripping the sand of the indoor volleyball court of the mall comfortably, Yuki took a deep breath before letting the ball glide out of her hands into the open air above her head.

            Her eyes were stuck to the ball as she watched it float gracefully towards the other side of the court. She started running and then jumped, a slight smile on her face as her palm made a satisfying smack on the ball, effectively sending it over the net.

            "Nice serve, nee-san!" A third-year in middle school shouted, giving her a big thumbs up and then proceeding to trip over his feet.

            Yuki sighed. Her team, comprised of random mall-goers, was chaotic.

            "Nice receive, Yamaguchi-kun!" She shouted at the other side, proud of her classmate.

            "He's on the other side, nee-san!" The middle-schooler frowned at her, before looking away quickly, a light red dusting his cheeks.

            "Oh, sorry." She observed intently as a female university student set the ball and one of her friends jumped up to hit it.

            Time froze as the woman spiked the ball strongly, aiming towards one of Yuki's team's unguarded areas.

            We're screwed. The score's 23-24 and not in our favor.

            Suddenly, an orange blur appeared in her vision and jumped, the tips of his fingers brushing against the ball. "One-touch!" Hinata-kun yelled, yanking his head back to desperately watch if any of his teammates would get the ball.

            "Got it!" The middle schooler shouted and set the ball... Towards no one.

            Yuki's feet were suddenly moving towards the net. Her heartbeat was out of control, spiraling off of the charts.

            Her hand reached back and she knew. She knew that she was in position to hit the ball perfectly. Yuki was going to tie up the score. She was going to earn her team the victory.

            Until a familiar body crashed into her and they both fell onto the floor. Yuki's head slammed against the sand, and the guy's head knocked against her own brutally.

            Everything went dizzy. Yuki weakly held out her hand in an attempt to save the ball, but it was too late.

            The volleyball hit the sand, and everything went black.

            "Yuki? Yuki? Yuki? Are you okay, oh my god, are you okay?" Yuki sleepily blinked open her eyes to find herself laying sprawled on the volleyball court's sand with all of the players in a loose circle around her.

            Hinata-kun kneeled by her side, his hand on her forehead.

            "You're okay!" He exclaimed, extremely relieved. Without any notice, he pulled her off of the sand and hugged her tightly.

            Yuki could feel her face turning red at the unwarranted contact.

            "Oh thank goodness you're alright, Tamashiro-san." Yamaguchi-kun appeared with a worried looking attendant by his side.

            "I'm so sorry..." Hinata-kun hugged her again and then held her at arms' length, as if to scrutinize every inch of her and make sure that she was unarmed.

            "Perhaps it's best if we leave them alone now. I think that her boyfriend wants to check up on her." The attendant smiled at Yuki and tugged Yamaguchi-kun off, shooing all of the observers away in the process.

            "What happened?" Yuki asked, hoping that Hinata-kun hadn't heard the woman's comment.

            "I..." Hinata-kun sheepishly rubbed the back of his head. "I accidentally jumped into you when you went for the spike. Then we fell and our heads... knocked together... You were only out for a few minutes..."

            "Oh, well... It's okay. I'm not hurt, see?" She stood up and brushed sand off of her dress, holding a hand out to help Hinata-kun.

            He stared at her for a few seconds before nodding and grasping her hand, pulling himself up easily. Yuki stared at their interlocked hands, noting how her smaller hand fit perfectly into his larger one.

            "Whoa!" Hinata-kun gasped, his hand still holding hers. "It's already nine o'clock!"

            Nine o'clock. Yuki could feel her heart exploding. She was dead.

            "Hinata-kun—" Yuki began, but was interrupted.

               "You know, Yuki, isn't it unfair if I call you by your first name? Wouldn't that show that we're friends, right? And we are friends! You can call me Shōyō, too!" Hinata-kun—no, Shōyō burst in.
            "Alright." She felt shaky. Her first date had happened today, and she had been unconscious for the first time in her life, too! Not to mention, she was now calling a boy by his first name.